Feng Shui
by Esuna
Summary: Yaoi. They say curiosity kills the cat, but Rei Kon is determined to understand the reason behind Kai Hiwatari's sudden queerness. KaiRei and a TakaoMax on the side.


**Title:** Feng Shui  
**Rating:** PG (only because there's shounen ai)  
**Warnings:** Mild OOC, really mild Takao bashing, etc.

**DISCLAIMER:** Only the storyline belong to me.

A/N: I'm not really a fan of this series, so excuse me if there's a few details wrong. This is my first fic for this anime. Any similarity with any other fic out there is purely coincidental. Enjoy.

= = =

            I, Rei Kon, was officially baffled.

            "Thank you, Rei, for the muffins!" Takao was yelling happily, practically announcing the news of my generosity to the public. Apparently, he had nothing against people giving him weird looks. "You're so kind!"

            "Takao, it's best if you wait till we reach our hotel rooms…" Kenny said, just in time to jerk Takao's arm, saving him from falling into a drain. "At least you'd be able to enjoy your muffins safely there."

            "But will I make it in time?" retorted Takao, reaching into the brown bag for a blueberry muffin.

            Distractions, distractions. Where was I? Oh, I was officially baffled because—

            There, he did it again. On everything that is holy, I was getting annoyed out of my wits, thanks to him. So he thought I was blind, eh? That I was unable to see what he was up to? Well, I'm only too glad to prove him wrong.

            _'Honestly, one of these days, Hiwatari Kai is going to get it from me.'_

            Do you know how frustrating it was to have Kai glance away in some random direction every ten minutes? No use squeezing any answer out of him; he'd just give his infamous "I do as I please so get lost" glares, and he'd say nothing to you, treating you like a piece of pebble on the streets.

            If he would just tell me, I would stop bugging him with "stupid, pointless questions." Yes, those were his words exactly, spoken yesterday.

            As if looking away was not bad enough, he did something totally un-Kai-like. He had a vague smirk on his face, and he was directing it at nobody in particular. Only that some girl on the other end of the road seemed to think that he was smiling at her. But she was the least of my problems.

            '_I swear, I'm really going to make him suffer if he keeps this up_.'

            He turned back to us, now his crimson orbs looking at the concrete ground, the half-dying tree of the pavement, Takao's brown bag, and the traffic light. In short, he looked at everything except me.

            If he hated me that much, he should just tell that straight to my face, and—

            "Rei! What are you thinking about? We're going already!" Max's voice yanked me back to the busy street. Max grabbed my arm abruptly, almost hauling me away, but my sharp ears had heard what Kai had to say about me.

            "Idiot."

- - - - -

            "I'm bored…" wailed Takao. The muffins I gave him were gone in a matter of seconds, and for some frightening reason, I found this occurrence to be normal. That's what I got for hanging around these people.

            "Why don't you try Kenny's computer?" I suggested. As the sensible one in the group, I believe it is up to me to see to their well-being. Yes, including that sarcastic guy over there, who was minding his own business.

            As if on cue, Kenny gave an unworldly shriek, spontaneously clutching his laptop close to his chest protectively. "You're kidding, right, Rei? Dizzi would—would—explode—and die—if Takao—"

            I gave a nervous laugh. Never mind that I found it funny—since when did a laptop is considered a live being? "Of course I was. How about taking a walk around the hotel? It's still hours to dinner."

            Takao brightened up immediately at my last word, and soon his boredom was forgotten. He said something about wanting Max to go with him, and the blond boy agreed enthusiastically. Kenny, laptop still on his chest (if it was alive, I presume it was suffocating), maintained that he must never allow his computer unattended.

            I couldn't really blame him, really. About two days ago Takao had accidentally spilled his chocolate sundae of poor Dizzi, and needless to say, Kenny went berserk. It was like he lost his sanity for a good three hours, until we managed to send it (obviously the laptop) for service. Kenny was actually weeping, moaning about his precious data and documents (I asked what kind of documents, but he was too busy wailing to answer me), and what he would do if they just vanish without warning. He said he would go into depression for years.

            Enough about Kenny. Kai did it again. Argh.

            This time, the glass mirror reflected his face perfectly. That micro-smile was too obvious to notice, and I did not need a microscope (or a telescope, for that matter) to see it. It was a momentary portrayal of his deep down, suppressed emotion. I love to see it; it was like he dropped his below-zero-Celsius front and acted like a human. Which was why I keep a constant lookout for it every now and then.

            Kai's half-opened eyelids were in Takao's direction, until the latter had departed from the room, accompanied by Max. With his object of attention gone, Kai closed them back, and leaned back into the armchair.

            Suddenly he opened one eye, glancing at me. That caught me unprepared, and I must've looked like goldfish to him, garbling and—in short, think goldfish. Or any fish, whatever. He frowned slightly, stood up and entered his own room. The room he was sharing with me. Somehow, part of me felt like going in there and cross-question him, and perhaps I'd hold Dranzer hostage, just to get some answer from that ice block.

            But if I ever did anything so unforgiving to his Dranzer, God knows what he'd do to me. Just in case, I checked if my Driger was still in my possession. Whew, at least Kai wouldn't be able to channel his anger towards my—

            "Rei?"

            "Huh?" I blinked once, then twice. "Yes, Ken—ahhh!"

            Kenny had brought his face closer to mine, and there was an unmistakable killing aura around him. "Don't ever suggest such a thing." There was a serious look on his face, and even without looking into his hidden eyes I could feel his eyes boring holes into mine.

            I cowered further into the settee. "I won't."

            "Good." Kenny, with an air of finality, straightened and walked to the table at the corner of the living room, plugged his significant other in, and focused on it. I was by all means glad to have him diverting his aura from me.

            Is it just me, or does the feng shui of this hotel room seem to be imbalanced? Maybe that's why they are acting weird…

- - - - -

            I was indecisive. Curiosity was killing me to no end. Kai had been in our room for 45 minutes, and all was silent. Something was dreadfully amiss, yet I couldn't put my finger on it. I simply had to get in.

            I should knock. Yes, I know. It was one of Kai's rules—enter without knocking and before you know it he'd kick you back to where you were. But if I knock, I wouldn't be able to catch Kai red-handed…

            Then again maybe he's just asleep. Or maybe checking on Dranzer. Or maybe just reading. Or maybe he's smiling…

            Whoops. I had thrown the door open. Ah, whatever happened to my self-control? But wait, I could've sworn his face softened…until he realized that he was no longer alone.

            He sat up straight on the bed, and glared at me. "How many times have I—"

            "Accident!" I gave a lame excuse, the lamest I could ever think of, in my opinion. "I'm sorry—I wanted to knock but—yeah, fell—"

            His eyes held suspicion, and he frowned deeply at my ineloquent speech. He knew something was up. It was not often to see the fluent tongue of Rei Kon twisted helplessly like thread, rendering him incoherent in many a way. Wait, did I just refer to myself as a third person?

            "Whatever." He decided that inquiring about my nosiness was a trifle, and he got out of bed and walked past me without any utterance.

            By then I was really puzzled. No matter what, I would get to the bottom of this. Even if it would cost me my dear life.

- - - - -

            I was out of my (I mean, our) room, when I noticed Kai was looking at Kenny's laptop, the shorter boy discussing something with the Russian. Kai didn't say anything, just a nod or two here and there, and that was all. Aware of my presence, Kai glanced at me, still giving me that glare for the 'accident' ten minutes ago.

            "What do you have there?" asked I, curious.

            "Oh, nothing…" Kenny clicked on a button. "Just checking our mails."

            "Ah." I ambled offhandedly towards them, my shoulder deliberately pushing Kai away gently. I could have sworn he was mildly shocked, but he didn't say anything—only that look. Ah, Hiwatari Kai, the boy with 101 looks.

            "May I check mine?" My hand was on the mouse, scrolling and clicking to the purple links. Kenny, after a thought, typed my email address in the empty blank, and he made way for me to type my password. Being a computer whiz and an ethical one (passwords **are **hush-hush subject), he excused himself to his own room—he was not sharing with anyone, unless you count this laptop of his.

            So I was left with Kai. At first he wanted to leave, but my sneakiness got the best of me, that I pushed my chair behind, blocking his way.

            "What are you up to?" he demanded after a deafening silence.

            "Me?" I looked at him innocently. "Just checking my inbox. That was what you were doing, wasn't it?"

            He wrinkled his forehead. "That's none of your business."

            "Ah, indeed so." I waited for the page to finish uploading. Let's see how long Mr. Hiwatari here can stop smiling discreetly… "My mailbox's flooded…" I sighed, deleting all the unread spam and forwarded stuff, mostly from Mariah. Until one in particular caught my attention and froze my fingers.

            "Hm, _What your month of birth has to say about your love life…_" I read the heading. I noted Kai's right eyebrow was raised, slightly higher than his left. Was he interested in these things? Oh well, I might as well humour him for awhile. "Should I read this?" I said out loud, making it look like I was debating with myself.

            A snort. That seemed promising enough. With a grin I clicked on the message and read the content.

            "_Your love life is blossoming_," I read the passage under my month of birth. "_Your partner is very much in love with you, and he/she makes it known that you belong to only him/her. He/She might be dropping hints everywhere, but if you remain indifferent towards him/her, chances are you'd lose him/her forever._" I leaned back, staring at the screen.

            And Kai's eyebrows were both raised. Hrm, interesting development…

            His eyes met the reflection of mine on the white screen, and the expression on him changed back to his cold one. "You actually believe in this crap?"

            "I don't know. It's not the same as feng shui, but…" I let it end there. "Intriguing message, hm?" I smiled at him. "What's your month, Kai?"

            Again, that look of him. "I'm not a believer in this rubbish."

            I laughed, hiding the disappointment beneath my laughter. "Oh, yeah, you're not. I might as well delete this one." I clicked on the delete icon.

            Kai suddenly pushed my chair closer to the table, until he had enough room for him to pass. "I should've done this from the start." He mumbled aloud and sank into the settee, looking out of the window.

            Shrugging, I turned my attention back to the laptop. Chuckling silently, I went to the trash can, ticked the one message I just deleted, and clicked on 'Return to Inbox'. I had to get back to my Kai-watching, regretting to have left my camera behind to catch him in action.

- - - - -

            Takao had been gone for ages, and it was only at nine that Max reappeared, saying that Takao was already at the restaurant downstairs, and that he was waiting for us eagerly.

            "At least he's not bored there," I remarked, locking the door and handing the key to Kai.

            "You keep it," said he, not even looking at me.

            "Huh? But you always keep our keys," I pointed out. Okay, the weirdness of it all was starting to give me the creeps. '_Note to self: Check the telephone book for any feng shui practitioner.'_

            "So?"

            "So you should keep it, like always." I held the key to him, but his hands did not move, still folded on his muscular chest.

            Kenny and Max were looking at us, sensing there was some sort of peculiarity in both Kai and my behaviour.

            "Erm, guys? Is there anything wrong?" asked Max.

            Wouldn't I like to know? "No—ah!" Kai had grabbed my wrist out of the blue, and with his free hand he took the key from me. "Kai! You could've just told me—"

            "I'm not going down, I changed my mind." He inserted the metal key into the lock.

            "K-Kai?" I stammered. "But you barely ate, and—"

            "Damn it, idiot, I can take care of myself!" With that, he kicked the door open, and shut it at my face.

            "He's acting awfully weird…" commented Max. "Is he sick?"

            "Sick?" Worried, I tapped on the door. "Kai? Can you hear me? Are you sick? Do you want me to get you anything?"

            "No." He answered from within. "Just leave me alone."

            Kenny placed his hand on mine. "Let's just go, Rei. He'll join us if he feels like it."

            "**If** he feels like it," I echoed to myself. I allowed Kenny to pull me to the elevator, but the fact that Kai called me an idiot more than once that day alone was starting to leave a deep wound in me.

            '_But for now, I shan't think of him. I must not think of him…_'

            I repeated the lines, making sure the mantra would work wonders on me so that I would stop musing about Kai. I was chanting for the 110th time when I suddenly saw Takao at the restaurant table, waving a piece of chicken wing in our direction.

            "What took you guys so long?" he demanded before biting into the golden-brown edible. "And where's Kai?"

            _'Weird, he just asked about Kai. Oh, well, Takao does regard him as a friend although Kai treats him like…like…'_

            "Rei, you're looking thoughtful tonight," observed Kenny. "A penny for your thoughts?"

            _'Great. If I didn't know any better I could've sworn they suddenly acquired the skill of telepathy…'_ "Oh, erm, yeah…" I sat down next to Max. "Feng shui."

            The three of them merely gave me blank stares, which I shrugged off casually and unfolded my napkin, quietly continuing my chant.

            I had no appetite. The food smelled heavenly, yes, but I felt like I couldn't digest anything. The uneasiness was making me nauseous, and even though the roasted chicken tasted remarkably wonderful in my mouth, I couldn't swallow it wholly. Takao berated me, demanding that I just wasted good food by letting it go down the sink, but Max calmed him down. I owed him big time, and for once I couldn't stand the stares the onlookers were giving me. Or maybe I'm just paranoid.

            Oh, right. Blame it on feng shui. And the cook. And Hiwatari Kai.

            Thus I spent a full one hour and thirty minutes staring at the dishes in front of me, filling and refilling my glass with plain water, and stabbing the napkin on my plate. I could see they were starting get worried, and I do not like seeing people in worry.

            "Hey, Rei, you have something on your mind, don't you?" asked Takao, rubbing his round stomach.

            Bingo. I attempted a weak smile. "It's nothing, really. It's just the feng shui."

            "Why? It suits me just fine!"

            "Er, well…I can't say that I'm a professional in feng shui…" I never knew smiling was so difficult to do…

            Takao stood up, stretched his body, complimenting on the food. I daresay sitting in that position he was in for three hours (at least) was a feat I could never achieve in a million years. Then he sighed in satisfaction. "I'm taking a walk around!"

            "What, again?" gasped Max. "You just ate!"

            "You see, Max," said Takao gravely. "I have my reasons."

            Kenny raised an enquiring eyebrow at that. "And what might they be, O wise one?"

            "There's another restaurant not far from here, and if I am not mistaken it closes in ten minutes' time." He had a determined look on his face. "I have to get there before it closes, and time is running out." He waved at us, promised to meet us back in our room, and departed, skipping happily towards the said restaurant.

            I sighed loudly without meaning to, which made both Kenny and Max glance at me for a second. I lied again, saying that everything was peachy. Kenny gave me a disbelieving look, until he finally gave up, and indulged in a conversation with Max. Occasionally he would turn to me and ask me for my opinion, but in view of the fact that I was barely listening, he only received a smile of apology from me. He made me feel guilty, and I tuned in to their conversation reluctantly, for the sake of taking my mind off that guy in our room.

            "Erm, Rei, should you pack anything for Kai?" asked Max. "Maybe he's hungry."

            "Serves him right for not coming down with us," I said lightly, although I actually meant it, deep down in my heart. Let's just hope they did not switch their telepathy mode on…

            "I think I should go back," announced I as I got up. "I'm drained."

            "Yes, you do that, Rei." Max nodded in agreement. "You look like you're in dire need of a good night's rest."

            I wished them good night and dragged my feet as I walked. Takao had gone long enough—by long, I meant more than ten minutes—and he should've joined us back at the restaurant by now. Perhaps he had returned to our room…with Kai in the room.

            Takao and Kai. In the same room. Alone in each other's company. Without Kenny. Without Max. Without Rei.

            What was I thinking? Now I was seriously scared. There was no way feng shui had this much of an effect on me, not in such a short duration of time. My imagination and instinct were getting wild for a boy my age. Kai and Takao. Could Kai possibly planned for us to leave, for him to remain and Takao joining him later—with us three still in the restaurant?

            I mentally kicked myself. No, impossible, Kai would never do that. He hated Takao more than anything, and everybody knew that. For him to make peace with Takao is as plausible as him abandoning Dranzer. 

            But what if everything was a front?

            Kai, the anti-social, would want to be caught dead in a relationship, much less with Takao. Maybe he was embarrassed, that he wanted to keep this a secret from all of us. Who knows what they were doing at that moment…

            '_Oh, swell…now I'm thinking of naughty things. Ugh.'_

            The elevator doors slid open, the "Ting" sound jolting me back to reality. I held the doors to make sure they would not close suddenly with me in between them. I scanned the area. No sign of anyone, not even Takao.

            Good sign.

            I approached our room, only to found it was unlocked. My astute nose picked up a scent of food. I entered quietly, curbing my inquisitiveness, and followed the scent. It was coming from our room; Kai and mine. I inspected the room, making sure nobody was snooping on me, and slipped inside. There was a white box, in which contained food, seated comfortably on the table.

            That was not all. From the labels, I deduced it was bought from the restaurant Takao was in.

            But where the heck was Kai?

            Feeling my knees fumble, I let myself drop on my bed. So Takao was here before me, bought food for Kai, and now who knows where they were. Probably out, enjoying the full moon outside. I was so blind, I should have known from the start.

            _'So Kai **does** like Takao…the same Takao who he claimed was a loud-mouth, bottomless pit and no brainer…_'

            I have lost. Even without trying to win Kai's love, I have lost. He had chosen Takao over me. I should have known…Kai never smiled to me. Well, not directly towards Takao either, as far as I knew, but at least he did it. And here was I, the boy who Kai called an idiot.

            _'I don't think I can take this…but I can't be like this. I can't let our team collapse just because of this. Takao is a good friend, he understands the others, shows his concern for the rest. He deserves Kai, and Kai deserves him too…'_

My fingers reached for the box. "I should be happy for them, and congratulate him…"

            "Who?"

            "Kai." That masterful voice, appearing suddenly from out of nowhere, made me verbalize the deepest of my deep thoughts. I turned quickly, and there was him, standing in the doorway, his arms folded in his trademark pose.

            "I didn't hear you coming in," said he flatly.

            "Er, ah…" I should have paid more attention in language class – now my verbosity has escaped me yet again. "I—this—you—" I stood up, persuading my legs to unbuckle, and I stood gazing at him.

            I did not know how I looked like at that moment, but I supposed something on my face—perhaps it was my expression—softened the frown on Kai's façade. I turned my head so that he would not see my face. I was too embarrassed for him to see me like this. I must have looked so pathetic, so…idiotic.

            He took long, slow strides and neared me. When he spoke, there was a tinge of concern in his voice—or maybe I was just imagining it. "What is the matter with you?"

            I mustered all my courage and ventured forward. "How come you never told us?"

            Perplexed, "Told you what?"

            "That you and Takao—"

            "What about that airhead?"

            "That's no way to call your lover!" I scolded him, almost in tears.

            For a moment there he was astonished—just a teensy-weensy bit, but it was enough to say he was astonished. His unemotional characteristic was not 24/7, it seemed. Soon, the astonishment evolved into—was it anger? Or was it—amusement?

            "Which moron gave you that idea?" he demanded unsteadily.

            "Well, I—" I pursed my lips, and then countered, "He was here, wasn't he? He bought you your dinner." I pointed accusingly at the little white box.

            "Idiot, I bought it for myself." He rolled his eyes, but his quivering eyebrows signalled that he was hiding something—perhaps laughter, or a chuckle. "I didn't feel like eating in that stuffy restaurant."

            Words could not express how shocked I was at that second. Here I was, making an absolute fool of myself, for suggesting something that was a mere suspicion, without even a single clue to support it. Kai must have thought the same thing, for he gripped my shoulders out of the blue.

            "Idiot, you—"

            "Yeah, I assume you do have the right to call me that," said I sourly. "I know I'm such a fool."

            "Why?" His eyes allayed, and his hold on me relaxed.

            "Because I thought that you and Takao…"

            "What if I was?" Something in his tone was authoritative, telling me that he would know it if my answer to be a lie.

            I paused. I was in deep trouble—so deep that giving a wrong answer to him right now would not make matters any better. So it was all or nothing. "If y—you were…I, I…"

            His ten fingers were practically prodding into my fragile skin as he waited for the answer impatiently.

            I took a deep breath. "IfyouwereIwouldbesosadbecausemychanceisgoneforever." Whew, all in one go. _'And now I wait for my demise. I'm too young to die, plus I haven't written a will…It's awfully hot in here, and I can't breath…maybe I'll just die suffocating from lack of oxygen…'_

            The silence was killing me. He stood there, frozen, that I was too scared to think what future was waiting for me. When I opened my mouth to declare something, he finally reacted.

            His lips devoured my spluttering ones, and his arms had embraced me tightly. I was shocked at first, but as he held my back, giving me a feeling of serenity and bliss, my muscles lightened up. When I moved my arm with the rigidity gone, I had enveloped Kai in them, one hand stroking his back and the other holding the back of his head. He pulled away, our faces only an inch apart. He was breathing on my face, and I on his.

            "K-Kai…I didn't know…" I spluttered dumbly.

            And for the first time, I saw him smiling. It was only for a split second, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Idiot."

            My forehead on his broad shoulder, and he caressed his cheek against my head. "I really thought you were with Takao…I mean, all those smirks you were doing behind everyone's back…"

            "Those…smirks…came when I was thinking about you…" He said, somewhat embarrassed at his words.

            "But why must you hide them? You looked amazingly striking when you did that, you know…"

            He grimaced, and a chuckle escaped me.

            "Sorry, Kai, I really am sorry. For thinking that you and Takao are together…" I tightened my hold on him, telling him not to let go.

            "I should've told you from the start," he told me in a barely audible whisper. "But I thought you and Mariah…"

            "Just a friend, Kai, just a friend. I promise you. And Kai…"

            "Yes, Rei?"

            "I love you…no matter what."

            He kissed me lightly on my temple in reply, sealing the promise, immortalizing it. There was no need for him to say anything, because as people are often so fond of saying, actions speak louder than words.

            It was at that time Takao, Kenny and Max decided to return, entering the front door. Hearing Takao's cries of "I'm full!" I panicked, and my grip on Kai tightened so hard I was afraid Kai would die from loss of blood. As if on reflex, Kai's right foot swung upwards and kicked the door close, granting some well-deserved privacy, and saving his back from five nasty abrasions in the process.

            "What was that?" I heard Max asking, but nobody supplied him with an explanation.

- - - - -

            The morning proceeded as usual, and after our first special night together, for the first time we were the last to wake up in the morning. It was Kenny's awful racket on the door that woke me up, and let me tell you waking Kai up was harder than it looked. He moaned something once and twice, and before I could yell he had grabbed me and thrown me on the bed, and nibbled on my neck.

            "K-Kai, we really—" I whispered, half laughing.

            "Hey, guys, what's going on in there?" asked Kenny, after he had ceased his knocking. "Are you guys all right?"

            "Aah, yes, we're **just** fine…" I squeezed the words out, and let out a chuckle as Kai rubbed his nose against mine.

            "Rei?" Kenny questioned, his curiosity was too obvious to the naked eyes. "First there's Max and Takao, and now…it's you guys…"

            Kai paused, and his blank stares met mine. "Err, what do you mean by that?" I asked timidly.

            "For one thing, look at the time." I did and I gasped, as Kai rolled his eyes in his cavalier manner. I hardly heard what Kenny said next; "The sun was already up for almost an eternity, and you guys are still in bed. Heaven knows what on Earth is wrong with you guys…"

            I chuckled, and Kai's face relaxed, giving me his rare smile.

            "Perhaps it's time for us to consider calling in a feng shui expert…" Kenny was saying.

            "Oh, no, no." I sat up. "It's not the feng shui. As a matter of fact, I discovered that it really helps me—a lot. In many things." I winked suggestively at Kai who had moved from his previous position, now resting his head on my lap.

            "But, Rei, what do you know about feng shui?"

            I brought my forehead on Kai's. "Not much, but enough."

            The stillness that came soon after told me that Kenny, realizing that I was solely beating around the bush and talking in riddles, had turned to his laptop for consultation, since he believed that at least his laptop would make more sense than I would. I cleared the blanket away, and before I entered the bathroom, Kai caught my eyes, and again, that smile which I longed to see had materialized before me.

            All mine, and no one else's.

            On the side note, because of four boys' tardiness, none of us had breakfast that morning—not even Takao.

^-end-^


End file.
